Every week in China, millions of people will sit in front of their TVs watching teenagers compete for the title Character Hero, which is a Chinese-style spelling bee(拼写大赛). In this challenge, young competitors must write Chinese characters by hand. To prepare for the competition, the competitors usually spend months studying dictionaries.
Perhaps the show’s popularity should not be a surprise. Along with gunpowder and paper, many Chinese people consider the creation of Chinese calligraphy(书法)to be one of their primary contributions to civilization. Unfortunately, all over the country, Chinese people are forgetting how to write their own language without computerized help. Software on smart phones and computers allows users to type in the basic sound of the word using the Latin alphabet. The correct character is chosen from a list. The result? It’s possible to recognize characters without remembering how to write them.
But there’s still hope for the paint brush. China’s Education Ministry wants children to spend more time learning how to write.
In one Beijing primary school we visited, students practice calligraphy every day inside a specially decorated classroom with traditional Chinese paintings hanging on the walls. Soft music plays as a group of six-year-olds dip brush pens into black ink. They look up at the blackboard often to study their teacher’s examples before carefully attempting to reproduce those characters on thin rice paper. “If adults can survive without using handwriting, why bother to teach it now?” we ask the calligraphy teacher, Shen Bin. “The ability to write characters is part of Chinese tradition and culture,” she reasons. “Students must learn now so they don’t forget when they grow up.” says the teacher. What can we learn about the Character Hero?
| A．It’s open to people of all ages and all walks. |
| B．It’s the most-viewed TV programs in China. |
| C．It aims to spread Chinese culture to the world. |
| D．It draws great public attention across the country. |
Why are Chinese people forgetting how to write the characters?
| A．Chinese people don’t refer to dictionaries very often. |
| B．Chinese people no longer use brush pens or practice calligraphy. |
| C．Chinese people are using the Latin alphabet instead of the characters. |
| D．Chinese people needn’t write by hand as often with the help of technology. |
According to Shen Bin, being able to write characters by hand is_________.
| A．necessary for adults to survive in China |
| B．a requirement made by the Education Ministry |
| C．helpful to keep Chinese tradition and culture alive |
| D．an ability to be developed only when you are students |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A news report. | B．A science report. |
| C．An advertisement. | D．Children’s literature. |
第三部分阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，共30分。）
阅读下列短文，从每题中的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。
A NATIONWIDE BESTSELLER
It’s likely that everything you learned about America’s ancient history is wrong.
The new book, 1491, completely changes our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
DID YOU KNOW?
When Columbus landed there were probably more people in the Americas than there were in Europe.
The peoples of North America had such healthy life-styles that as late as the 19th century they continued to be the tallest people on earth.
Facts have shown that the Americas were populated as long as 33,000 years ago.
4,000 years ago Mesoamerican farmers developed corn in a feat (技艺) of genetic engineering that still isn’t completely understood.
COMMENTS ON 1491
“In the tradition of Jared Diamond & John McPhee, a totally new view of pie-Columbian America” --Richard Rhodes
“Attractively written and really absorbing ... Charles C. Mann has produced a book that’s part detective story, part epic (史诗) and part tragedy. He has taken on a vast topic: thousands of years, two huge continents, and cultures.”
-- Charles Matthews, San Jose Mercury News
“Powerful and challenging”
--Alan Taylor, Washington Post
“A pleasure to read as well as a wonderful education” -- Howard Zinn
56. On the whole, 1491 is a book mainly about America’s_______ .
A. life-styles B. population C. history D. agriculture
57. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about the comments on the book 1491 ?
A. It is interesting and instructive. B. It is attractive and culturally related
C. It is challenging and revolutionary. D. It is humorous and persuasive.
58. From this passage, we can learn______ .
A. people settled in the Americas a little earlier than 1492
B. North Americans were the tallest in the 18th century in the world
C. Mesoamerican farmers knew genetic engineering 5,000 years ago
D. the population in the Americas was smaller than that in Europe in 1492
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND—A British teaching union famous for strange ideas has supported a proposal to employ dogs as classroom assistants.
At the annual conference of the Professional Association of teachers in Southport, northwest of England, one person suggested properly trained dogs be able to keep order in primary schools. They can round up lost children and protect those who experience unfortunate “accidents”. Wendy Dyble, a Shetland Islands woman who teaches children up to age seven, made it clear to her fellow friends that she was not “barking mad”. They obviously believed her, supporting her idea by 16 votes to 13, with a total of 63 abstentions(弃权票).
She said big dogs could help round up children, keep them in line, lick up the milk they spill on the floor and provide the extra eyes that a teacher needs to keep order. “A big dog would also be helpful for breaking up fights and look for lost property, like gym shoes or dolls,” Dyble said at the conference. “The dog will also be useful in sniffing out smells that children do not own up to,” she added. “It would be nice for the teacher not to have to go round sniffing each child to find the culprit（犯过者）.”
The idea was greeted by the Dog Defense League but less so by bigger teaching unions. A spokesman for Education Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said his guide dog was always popular with pupils when he visited schools. The Professional Association of Teachers, with around 35,000 members, is the smallest teaching union in Britain. It has an honour for occasional strange ideas.
Earlier this week, its annual conference here suggested stopping exams because they lead to stress and introducing selection at the age of 12 based on physical coordination and manual skill in the use of hand.
51. According to the writer's opinion, to employ dogs as classroom assistants________
A. is a wonderful idea
B. can improve the relation between children and animals
C. is beyond ordinary people's minds
D. can make some teachers lose jobs
52. The phrase “own up to” in the third paragraph means_________
A. admire B. admit C. dislike D. interest
53. What Dyble said at the conference___________.
A. gained some support from the members B. frightened everyone at the conference
C. interested everyone at the conference D. caused some trouble to trained dogs
54. A spokesman for Education Secretary .
A. once used a dog as classroom assistant B. sang high praise for Dyble's idea
C. would employ dogs as teachers D. benefited from dogs more than others
55. The last paragraph of this passage .
A. has nothing to do with the topic of this passage
B. shows there are too many exams in British school
C. provides further facts about the teaching union
D. shows the writer's anger to the union
Fireworks explosions killed many people and injured hundreds more in China as the 2006 traditional Lunar New Year celebrations led to much disorder as well as joy across the nation.
At a temple fair in Henan, 36 people were killed on New Year's Day when a nearby storeroom full of fireworks exploded. The accident, caused by 3 children who threw burning fireworks into the storeroom, injured up to 48 people.
In the capital, Beijing, where a 12-year ban on Lunar New Year fireworks had just been lifted, the government reported 112 people were treated at hospital emergency rooms over the weekend for fireworks-related injuries.
"On New Year's Eve alone, we had more than 40 injuries and among them there were around a dozen people with serious injuries," hospital assistant director，Tian Jian said. In China's south-western city, Chongqing, where the fireworks ban was also lifted after 12 years, firefighters rushed to put out nearly 200 fires caused by fireworks on New Year's Eve.
A ban on fireworks, which are traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits and ghosts trying to enter New Year, was put in place across 200 cities in China due to safety and environmental pollution concerns. The ban was lifted in Beijing and many other cities in 2006.
However, despite the fireworks disorder, China's 1.3 billion people were largely enjoying the festival, with celebrations to continue throughout all of this week-long public holiday.
46. In which year were fireworks forbidden in Beijing and Chongqing?
A. In 1990 B. In 1992 C. In 1994 D. In 1995
47. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. The origin of fireworks during the Spring Festival
B. The cause of lifting the ban on fireworks.
C. The direct cause of the fireworks explosion in Henan.
D. The number of injuries caused by fireworks in Chongqing.
48. The underlined phrase" ward off" in the fifth paragraph means ________.
A. prevent B. set off C. allow D. burn down
49. Which of the following is the very reason why fireworks were banned in China?
A. Noise pollution B. Waste of money
C. Air pollution D. Possible injury and death
50. The purpose of writing the passage is to ________.
A. warn people of the great danger of fireworks
B. report the number of fireworks deaths and injuries during the festival
C. report that fireworks cause more fires and injuries than deaths
D. Advise people to keep away from fireworks
III. 阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节 阅读理解（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It’s hard to believe that before 1985, people in Britain didn’t use mobile phones. That was the year when the first mobile phone company began operation in the UK, although in other parts of Europe mobiles had been used for several years.
Early mobiles were much larger than they are today. Some of them weighed about 5 kg and the owners had to pay several thousand pounds for them. By the beginning of the 1990s, companies in the UK had updated their mobile phones so they were more like the mobiles used all over Europe. Those phones weighed about 500g, and the batteries lasted longer，whereas before they had lasted for only one hour’s talk-time.
Nowadays, some of our mobiles weigh as little as 50g and have a talk-time of up to five hours and a battery life of up to 10 days. About 80% of UK adults now own a mobile phone, and there are now almost 50 million mobile phone users in the UK.
Nobody had ever expected mobile phones to become so popular. One huge surprise was the increase in the use of text messages. Twenty years ago, people didn’t hear of “texting”. Now, over one billion text messages are sent every month in the UK. People are also using their mobile phones as music centers, as personal organizers and to surf the Internet.
Mobile phones are developing all the time and people are predicting that soon nobody will want to leave his house without one in his pocket. Mobile phones will no longer be just useful, but necessary for people in the UK.
41. What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Mobile phones in the UK are getting smaller and lighter.
B. Mobile phones in the UK have more functions now.
C. Mobile phones in the UK are developing very slowly.
D. The history development of mobile phones in the UK.
42. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Mobile phones in the UK appeared earlier than in other parts of Europe.
B. In the UK some early mobile phones were about 100 times as heavy as those today.
C. In the UK more than twelve billion text messages are sent every year.
D. The British use mobiles to enjoy music, organize personal lives and surf the Internet.
43. When was the first mobile phone company started in the UK?
A. In 1985. B. Before 1985. C. In 1990. D. In 1970.
44. Which word can replace the underlined “whereas” in the second paragraph?
A. when B. while C. just D. till
45. What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
A. Mobile phones will be predicting daily life in the UK.
B. Mobile phones will be more popular in the UK.
C. Mobile phones will be necessary for people in the UK.
D. Mobile phones will develop quickly.
At 227 billion yuan ($33 billion) for 2008, Guangdong's cultural industries accounted for 6.4 percent of its GDP and experienced a growth rate of 13.8 percent. But Lai admits that size does not equal weight. "Our businesses are mostly small, financing difficult and brands few."
One local brand that has made it big is Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf, also translated as Happy Sheep and Gray Wolf, China's most popular cartoon series currently being aired. But Liu Manyi, general manager of Creative Power Entertaining Inc, the firm behind the hit show, is not laughing to the bank. Instead she is bitter: "Pirate discs were all over the streets before our first movie hit the screen. Their images appear on all kinds of products. All this has no proper licensing."
In case you don't know, China produces the largest amount of animated(动画的) programming in the world. But quantity is not quality. Behind every Pleasant Goat there are tens of thousands of flops. The best way for the government to promote the country's creative industries is to crack down on piracy (盗版). Hollywood often raises its voice about being victimized (受害) in China. Truth be told, Hollywood is probably the least affected since there is a quota system for China's importation of Hollywood films.
Many Chinese producers are taking baby steps and the domestic market is all they have. If their rights in the home market are not protected, they will never see the day their products find a foreign audience.
The sudden closure(关闭) of BT websites where copyrighted materials used to flow freely suggests a determination on the part of the government to take intellectual property rights seriously. This kind of websites is bad for us, so we should ban them.
Much of the news coming out of the 2009 International Cultural Industries Forum was encouraging. China's film industry is expected to get 6 billion yuan ($879 million) in box office receipts this year. A decade from now, this number may go up to 30 billion, according to some forecasts.
If the government takes serious action against online and offline pirates, China's creative industries may well have a bright future.
51. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 1 mean?
A. Fast as the development of Guangdong's cultural industries is, they don’t have a big challenge in the world.
B. Guangdong's cultural industries can make a big profit although they are just the small companies.
C. Guangdong's cultural industries make a big contribution to its GDP because of their strong economic power.
D. The development of Guangdong's cultural industries cannot catch up with any other industries.
52. What does Liu Manyi think about Pleasant Goat and Big, Big Wolf?
A. It is a failure since it is a local brand.
B. It is a success but cannot get the expected profit.
C. Its profit from the images has been shared legally.
D. Pirate discs make it more popular among the children.
53. Hollywood films are mentioned to tell us that __________.
A. Hollywood films make our creative industries have less space to survive
B. it is piracy that makes it possible for Hollywood films to get less influenced
C. our creative industries need enough protection to have a bright future
D. foreign films have taken up more market in China than the local ones
54. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Chinese creative industries are more advanced than foreign ones.
B. The domestic market is of little significance to the survival of Chinese creative industries.
C. BT websites stand in the way of the development of Chinese creative industries.
D. The growth of China's film industry is always slow and needs more support.
55. In which column of a newspaper will you probably read this passage?
A. Regional B. Economic C. Sports D. Cartoon
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